Russell Reynolds Associates Hires Richard Fields

Russell Reynolds Associates, a global leadership advisory and search firm, today announced that Richard Fields has joined the firm as head of the Board Effectiveness Practice. Based in Boston, Fields will counsel boards amid today's fast-changing environment as an expert in ESG, corporate governance, board effectiveness and activism defense. 

"Over the past 18 months, we have witnessed how the dynamics of the pandemic, ESG and DE&I have raised the stakes in what is expected of independent directors who oversee corporations around the world," said Constantine Alexandrakis, leader of Russell Reynolds Associates' Americas Region. "Rich's unique perspective and expertise bring a depth of insight to our global team as we help clients navigate the ever-changing and complex issues involving boards and corporate leaders." 

Prior to joining Russell Reynolds Associates, Fields was a partner at King & Spalding, where he advised public company boards of directors, C-suite executives and in-house counsel on issues related to corporate governance and board leadership, among other topics. During his time there, he was the firm's first director of corporate stakeholder engagement, helping companies better understand important outside constituencies, including institutional holders, issue advocates, proxy advisors, and ESG raters and rankers. Previously, Fields was a partner at the governance boutique Tapestry Networks.  

As a sought-out author and speaker, Fields is the national chair for the Society for Corporate Governance's 2021 Annual Conference, has authored chapters on corporate governance in each edition of The Handbook of Board Governance and was one of the principal architects of the SDX Protocol, a guide for shareholder engagement supported by investors today representing more than $20 trillion in assets under management. He was also one of four global winners of the Millstein Center for Global Markets and Corporate Ownership's Rising Star of Corporate Governance Award in 2015. 

Fields received his BA from Clark University and his JD from The University of Chicago Law School with honors.